Albio Sires was born in Bejucal, Cuba, and moved to the United States at age 11. He and his family fled Cuba in 1962 with the help of relatives in the United States.

His family settled in West New York, where Sires became a star basketball player at Memorial High School. He earned a basketball scholarship to St. Peter's College where he earned a bachelor's degree.

Sires taught Spanish and English at Memorial High School.

He was elected mayor of West New York in 1995. He won election in 1999 to the New Jersey General Assembly where he served as speaker from 2002 to 2006.

He won election to the U.S. House in 2006.

Sires is married and has a child.

Albio Sires is one of New Jersey's most colorful politicians. He has focused mostly on foreign affairs, housing, homeland security and transportation issues since winning election to the U.S. House.

Sires easily won the Democratic nomination in the 2012 primary.

He was elected in a June 2006 special election to fill a vacancy created when then-Gov. Jon Corzine appointed then-Rep. Robert Menendez to fill Corzine's seat in the U.S. Senate. Sires won election to a full term later that year.

The Newark-based 13th District is home to major port facilities, several bridges and two major tunnels leading into New York City, and Sires deals with a number of regional issues.

He was among a group of lawmakers that pushed for the reopening of the crown in the Statue of Liberty. The attraction was reopened in 2009, nearly eight years after it closed following Sept. 11.

Sires has been a strong opponent of the Federal Aviation Administration's plan to auction off takeoff and landing slots at New York-area airports, including Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.

The FAA bowed to pressure, including from airports and airlines, and the auctions were canceled in 2009. Sires said auctions would lead to higher ticket prices for passengers and reduced service to smaller communities.

Sires says Cuba must demonstrate improvements in human rights, beginning with the release of political prisoners and including holding legitimate elections, before the United States considers lifting economic sanctions on the country.

He has joined with other members of Congress to call for an overhaul of the nation's immigration system. The group says the way illegal immigrants are often arrested in pre-dawn raids is counterproductive, separating families while doing little to address illegal immigration.